I am a leadership advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs and Boards, author of "Hacking Leadership" (Wiley) and "Leadership Matters" (2007), the Chairman at N2Growth, a member of the board of directors at the Gordian Institute and recognized by Thinkers50 as one of the top leadership thinkers globally. I am also a syndicated columnist and contributing editor on topics of leadership, innovation and problem solving. I have been married for nearly 30 years and am a proud father and grandfather.

The Secret To Making Better Hires

Q: Why do so many companies struggle when it comes to making great hires? A: They overlook the obvious. In other words, the people doing the hiring fail to understand, look for, and qualify the one characteristic that indicates the certainty of a good hire. While companies screen for many things, they often miss the gold standard litmus test – they play a game of chance when it’s simply not necessary.

I was casually reading the results of a survey on the topic of hiring methodologies last weekend when one particular survey question caught my eye: “When considering a new hire, what is the one characteristic or attribute of the candidate that would most influence your hiring decision?” The “right” answer seemed quite obvious to me, but in reading the respondent’s (100 hiring managers, executives and HR types) answers, I was truly amazed at what I saw… It’s no wonder companies make bad hires when they make decisions based on the “wrong” evaluation metrics.

Let me begin by sharing some of the representative answers (not mine) that were put forth in response to the survey question above:

“Leadership ability”

“I would have to say being a good communicator”

“The ability to think outside the box and eagerness to learn”

“The ability to make a good first impression”

“Intelligence”

“Passion”

“Commitment to invest long hours”

“Being a team player”

“Excellent time management skills”

“Enthusiastic attitude”

“Strong analytical abilities”

“Solid technical skills”

“The ability to execute”

“The ability to follow process”

“That the individual is a nice person”

“That they have a degree from a good school”

Did you notice anything missing from the list? Again, keep in mind these (along with the other answers posted) were given by senior managers and executives. Here’s what I’d like you to consider; while the answers noted above all point to admirable traits, when you evaluate them based upon the context of the original question posed, they are woefully inadequate, and nothing short of mystifying. Out of 100 answers provided only two respondents answered with what I believe is the correct answer: “Integrity and Character.”

You see, any of the traits identified in the 98 other answers absent character and integrity will eventually lead to some type of disconnect or debacle. Put another way, if you can’t trust someone to do the right thing, it doesn’t matter how likable, passionate or talented they are. You can teach many things, but altering the hardwiring of an adult’s character is best left to a therapist or the clergy – not an employer.

A values based approach to hiring increases performance, enhances collaboration, reduces turnover, improves morale, and creates a stable culture. The fact that character and integrity showed as poorly as they did in the survey is proof positive for why the corporate workplace struggles with hiring. If you’re going to probe for something, probe for character.

What should be jumping off the page here is that based upon the above referenced survey only two percent of the companies surveyed appear to utilize a value based hiring methodology. Moreover, one might conclude that 98% of these companies have the wrong people doing the hiring. I strongly suggest that whomever is doing the hiring within your organization utilize a values based recruiting model. This doesn’t just mean hire a top producer, or the candidate who graduated from the best business school, but rather hire a quality individual who is a person of integrity & character, whose values are in alignment with the organizations core values and vision, and who also happens to be talented.

The simple truth of the matter is you can have your cake and it eat too if you’re willing to holdout for the right person. It simply isn’t necessary to compromise on core values to acquire talent. A new hire should desire to be part of your company for more than the ability to maximize immediate earning potential – they should be interested in your company because there is a sincere alignment of values and vision. My premise is a simple one – there is no talent shortage, just a shortage of those able to recognize it.

Don’t be quick to hire based upon gut feel, but rather take time in the interviewing process to let the prospective new hire get a feel for your culture and your company. Never oversell the company, but rather disclose all the problems and weaknesses of the organization so the candidate can make a good decision that won’t later be unwound by inconsistent messaging or practices. Above all, don’t be seduced by qualities that while they may be attractive on the surface, won’t ever make-up for a lack of character and integrity.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

Schlenker tells us that it is principled ideology that indicates higher claimed integrity. What you are saying then is that to determine integrity we need to identify the principles of an individual as well as assess the propensity of traits which are positive on balance to those which are negative in order to assess character.

Boiled down Mike you are saying that an employee needs to be good and honest!

This is a great post! While all the listed characteristics hiring managers are looking at are important, none are as essential as ensuring the candidate has character and integrity. In the interview process, whether in person or through online video, make sure the candidate understands fully what the company culture is like. Don’t sugar coat your organization but show it to the candidate flaws and all. The job seekers who are right for your company will still be interested because they truly believe in your company’s mission statement.

Want to hire the best, start here… Every time I read an article such as yours. I know that I had a great mentor. We know the search business inside out, and we are brilliant at our job. We have been in the retained search business since 1980, and our skills are getting better every day. We do the following as standard procedure. 1) A complete analysis of the open position (regardless if it is an incumbent situation or not). 2) Review the personnel with whom this position who will directly report to up, down and horizontally for a “Needs Analysts”™. 3) Do a financial assessment, and due diligence of the client company. 4) Do an assessment of the people who are directly involved with this position (up, down and horizontally): personalities, temperaments, and characters. 5) Get a complete picture of the position (job requirements, specifications, goals, and performance-based requirements). Put together a portrait of a person who has more than a 90% chance of being successful in this position. Review all the assessments with the client to make sure this is what they want, and make sure the position has not changed. 6) Look at target firms who would employee our target candidate. Ferret out who the best people who are performing the same type of position currently. Cull down to the best three candidates, while at the same time check this group against our clients’ personnel who will have direct contact with these candidates for a personalities, temperaments, and characters match to see if they might be a good match. Review the information with our client to get a “reading” and their thoughts. 7) Once we have a solid picture and understanding of our clients’ needs, wants and desires; we make a recruiting plan. 8) Start to recruit.

I am right there with you when you say “…don’t be seduced by qualities that while they may be attractive on the surface, won’t ever make-up for a lack of character and integrity.” And, I have to add a value that may be “baked in” to your meaning of character and integrity but must be culled out front and center: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. I am continually astonished at how accurate a predictor a mindset of personal accountability is for matching the right person to an organization. A mindset of personal accountability can be measured with an assessment, or gauged via interview questions. When the candidate’s personal accountability mindset is higher than the organizations, they won’t last long at all. And when a candidate’s personal accountability mindset is lower, they will likely need to be managed or supported at a level not expected or predicted in the interview. We have certainly found a solid assessment tool that lets an employer engage what they cannot see in the interview – a candidate’s mindset about personal accountability. The tool allows the measure without a judgement of right or wrong. It’s like taking your temperature. You react according to whether it’s normal or fever level. An assessment of personal accountability is a clear indicator of best fit from “will thrive in an environment that supports self-direction and self-empowerment and will answer for results good or bad” to “will need frequent contact and support (read: managing) on-going, until personal accountability is increased”. A new hire with a high level of personal accountability is said by many to be really desirable. Warning: Some organizations do not want employees with a high level of personal accountability and that new hire will be an immediate misfit.

Thanks for the keen insights and observations. You might be interested in a previous piece I authored on accountability: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/05/31/the-simple-solution-for-improved-performance/

I remember reading Jack Welch of GE saying (something like…): There are value and there are numbers. If someone has the right values but misses their numbers, give them another chance. If they do their numbers but don’t have the right values, be appreciate but watchful as they may not be a good long term employee and if they have the right values and hit their numbers then everything’s great.